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Chris Brown spoke candidly about what he calls “the Rihanna incident” with British newspaper, The Guardian. He said it was, “probably the biggest wake-up call for me.”

Brown was notoriously convicted in 2009 of assaulting his then girlfriend Rihanna just before the two were to attend the Grammy Awards. He was given five years’ probation, a term which has been rife with continued legal battles and even an on-again-off-again relationship with Rih Rih.

“I learned from it,” he said, “and it was almost like … I wouldn’t say it happened for a reason, but it was something to trigger my mind to be more of a mature adult. To handle myself in situations, don’t throw tantrums, don’t be a baby about it.”

Brown added, “That was probably, like, one of the most troubling times in my life because I was 18 or 19, so being able to feel the hatred from more adult people …” but, he said, despite everything, he wanted to keep making music (he noted that he knew he wanted to be an entertainer as early as 12 years old). “I’m going to come back,” he said he thought at the time. “I know the music that I’m doing, how hard I work, is not just for nothing.”

Now, after his next album release, CB’s considering stepping away from the spotlight, dropping only the occasional single or video. His camp, after he suffered a non-epileptic seizure, has said that he’s exhausted from the “non-stop negativity” he’s been receiving. Brown says he’s disenchanted with how business is running these days.

“You can blame it on downloads, but the numbers are what they are. After this, maybe I’ll release a single every few months, or release a song; you’re still going to hear my music and videos.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the singer also revealed more about his childhood experiences, saying that he lost his virginity as young as eight years old.

“It’s different in the country,” he said, explaining that he grew up in Tappanhannock, Va., with a lot of boy cousins, who watched a lot of porn, so, “Like, girls, we weren’t afraid to talk to them; I wasn’t afraid.”

Brown’s new album, X, is slated for a Nov. 19 release. He said this collection, “creative-wise, is just musically sound, diverse … it can just identify with any age group, with any race, with any culture.”